Banks Recapitalization Watch for the Week Ended November 6, 2025
This week, activity in the ongoing banking sector recapitalisation exercise remained relatively quiet, with no major fresh announcements from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) or the various operating banks themselves. However, notable progress was recorded by Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited, which confirmed that it had successfully met the CBN’s N200bn minimum capital requirement for national commercial banks ahead of the 2026 compliance deadline.
However, FCMB Group Plc’s N160bn public offer remains the key market activity of the week. The offer, which aims to strengthen the capital base of its banking subsidiary in line with the N500bn minimum requirement for international banks, consists of 16 billion ordinary shares priced at N10 per share. The transaction is scheduled to close today, November 6, 2025. Elsewhere, Jaiz Bank Plc announced plans to increase its capital to N150bn, confirming its compliance with the CBN’s recapitalisation directive.
Market analysts expect an increase in recapitalisation announcements over the next three weeks as more banks advance their capital plans and regulators process the verification of the capital raised so far.
Latest updates from other banks include;
FirstHoldco is finalising plans for its additional capital raise and a private placement, following an off-market transaction involving 10.46bn shares sold.
Sterling Financial Holdings Company successfully concluded its public offer of 12.58 billion ordinary shares, priced at 50 kobo each, raising a total of N88.07bn as of September 30, 2025. Proceeds from the offer are expected to bolster Sterling Bank Limited’s capital adequacy, provide capital for SterlingFi Wealth Management, and fund the Group’s broader strategic expansion plans.
UBA has also successfully concluded its Rights Issue of 3,156,869,665 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N50.00 per share. The offer, which was based on one new ordinary share for every 13 ordinary shares held as of Wednesday, July 16, 2025, closed on Friday, September 19, 2025. The exercise is expected to raise about N157.84bn in additional capital, subject to approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Once completed, the Rights Issue will strengthen UBA’s capital position ahead of the CBN’s recapitalization deadline.
We maintained that investors buying into bank stocks should consider the size of the fresh equity raised or to be raised. Proshare’s Economic and Market Intelligence Unit (EMIU) expects earnings per share (EPS) of several banks to fall in the short-term. It is also likely that price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios may rise significantly as EPS declines (see the Table below)
Table 1
Table 2:
